The second phase of the monorail from Wadala to Jacob Circle may not start operating until mid-April, as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) continues to face a shortage of rakes. The MMRDA, that is likely to miss its January-end deadline, is expected to issue tenders for the procurement of more rakes next month.
The second phase, which was first expected to become operational in 2015, has so far missed more than 20 deadlines. The cost of phase 1 and phase 2 of the monorail project is Rs 2,460 crore.
An MMRDA official said, “We need at least 10 rakes to run the monorail with increased frequency on both the corridors. We are going to purchase 10 new rakes. Tenders for the same will be floated in next month.”
The senior officer said to start phase 2, they required mono-rakes. “Currently, we have only four mono-rakes, of which three run to provide daily services and one is on standby for emergencies. To run both the corridors (Phase 1 and 2) with good services, the MMRDA requires at least 10 rakes,” he said.
Joint project director MMRDA, Dilip Kawatkar said: “To start the second phase of monorail we are trying to refit four non-functional rakes, which were missing parts. We have asked for repair of these rakes. He further said to start service on the overall corridor we require eight to 10 rakes in all and we are trying to refit four rakes (procured for the first phase). He further added, “We are also planning to purchase 10 new rakes so that monorail corridor will have at least 18 monorail rakes and will be able to give quantity service.”
The first phase from Wadala to Chembur started operations in 2014 with a daily ridership of about 15,000 to 20,000, but it struggles to draw commuters. The second phase, which will provide connectivity to the suburban railway stations on three Central, Western and Harbour lines.
